Auburn football fans have waited all season for a breakout game from freshman wide receiver Cam Coleman. On Saturday, it finally occurred.
Coleman broke several season highs on Saturday by logging eight catches for 100 yards and three touchdowns in Auburn’s 48-14 win over ULM on Saturday at Jordan-Hare Stadium in Auburn, Alabama.
Ahead of Saturday’s game, Coleman’s best game was a three-catch, 82-yard game vs. Oklahoma in September. He reeled in four catches in Auburn’s win over Kentucky on Oct. 26 and had recorded just two touchdown receptions. He blew past those numbers on Saturday to headline a record-breaking day for several Tigers.
In addition to Coleman’s epic day, Auburn running back Jarquez Hunter reached the 1,000-yard rushing mark for the first time in his career after rushing for 102 yards on 14 carries. Quarterback Payton Thorne also tossed five touchdown passes, which ties a single-game program record.
Auburn dominated ULM in several categories in the first half, including yards, first downs, red zone opportunities, and tackles for loss. The Tigers out-gained ULM 292-70 through the first 30 minutes, which included a 188-yard passing effort from Thorne. Thorne completed 16-of-24 passes with just under 50% of his completions to Coleman, who logged seven catches for 78 yards and two scores.
Auburn ended the day with 507 total yards, including 304 yards through the air. On the otherside, Auburn’s defense allowed ULM to gain just 218 yards and held them to 2-of-12 on third down opportunities.
The Tigers took control of the scoreboard early in the 1st quarter when Thorne connected with Coleman for a 20-yard touchdown reception with 10:57 remaining. Following a field goal from Birmingham Southern transfer Ian Vachon with 5:21 in the 1st quarter to extend Auburn’s lead to 10-0, the pair teamed up again for a three-yard touchdown pass at the 7:44 mark in the 2nd quarter to put Auburn ahead, 17-0.
The final score of the first half occurred with 0:06 to go in the 2nd quarter when Thorne found KeAndre Lambert-Smith for a 30-yard touchdown reception to push Auburn to a 24-0 halftime lead.
ULM started the 3rd quarter by finding the scoreboard on a one-yard rush by running back Ahmad Hardy at the 8:09 mark. However, their momentum was quickly taken away as the Tigers scored twice to close out the quarter. Thorne connected with Coleman for the third time with 4:37 to go in the 3rd quarter and later found fellow freshman receiver Malcolm Simmons for a 40-yard score to give Auburn a 38-7 entering the 4th quarter.
Auburn added two more scores to cap their scoring. Damari Alston rushed for a score from seven-yards out to give Auburn the 45-7 lead with 11:48 to go in the quarter. Vachon connected on his second field goal of the day to give Auburn the 48-7 lead with 1:48 to go in the game. ULM capped scoring with less than 10 seconds remaining when Warhawks QB General Booty found Jonathan Bibbs for a 65-yard touchdown pass to cut into Auburn’s lead, 48-14.
Auburn will host No. 14 Texas A&M next Saturday to close out its home schedule for the 2024 season. The official game time and network will be announced following the conclusion of Saturday’s college football action.
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This article originally appeared on Auburn Wire: Instant analysis: Cam Coleman, Auburn dominates ULM to return to win column
